The Royal Capital's Census

Following Queen Tianis's orders, we headed to the department managing the resident registry… the census records, to lend a hand.

Honestly, there was only so much we could actually help with.

Even if I was good with numbers and could handle paperwork, I wasn't exactly a specialist.

Ideally, they'd assign a large number of personnel so we could throw bodies at the problem, but apparently that wasn't feasible.

Even with new hires being brought on, they still simply didn't have enough people.

It made sense. Since they handled classified information, employees needed verified backgrounds and solid conduct records.

Bringing in anyone suspicious now would undo all the work they'd put into rebuilding things.

We'd had an official order prepared to avoid any disruptions, so at least we wouldn't be turned away at the door.

I should've brought Orleans along for this.

Azu, who was with me now, was someone I had no complaints about when it came to combat, but when it came to paperwork, she was completely out of her element.

At best, she could carry stacks of documents around.

I'd also invited Princess Yupe, asking if she'd like to join us if she was free, but she rattled off a string of excuses and escaped. A shame.

And so we arrived at a room in the General Affairs Bureau.

It was one of the three major bureaus at the heart of the Deianclure Kingdom, standing alongside the Military Affairs Bureau and the Treasury Bureau.

That said, this was a recent development. Before Queen Tianis took the throne, the General Affairs Bureau had basically been treated as a subordinate division under Military and Treasury.

They'd had their personnel authority seized, so there was nothing they could do about it.

Given that this bureau handled domestic affairs, arguably the most important work for a king or chancellor, I would've thought it'd carry more weight. But there must have been all sorts of political struggles behind the scenes.

The kingdom had apparently been in constant turmoil ever since around the time King Izard, who had helped us at the red castle, went missing. That probably played a role too.

When I opened the door, the inside was an absolute disaster.

Parchment and paper were scattered across the floor, and the bureaucrats inside were rushing around or buried in work.

Occasionally, angry shouts would echo through the room.

It was, in every sense of the word, a warzone.

The bureaucrats were so swamped with their own tasks that they didn't even have the bandwidth to notice Yohane walking in.

If I'd been carrying documents, they might have glared at me for bringing more work.

"Oh, over there. Isn't that Kanon-san?"

"Looks like it. Let's head over."

In the middle of the room sat a woman I recognized, locked in a staring contest with a pile of documents.

As we got closer, I could hear her muttering something under her breath, her eyes never leaving the text.

Honestly, it was a little unsettling.

"Kanon-san, it's been a while. Do you have a moment?"

There was no immediate response when I called out.

But after a beat, she held up a hand to signal me to wait, finished checking the document to the end, then set it back on the desk.

Only then did she finally look our way.

"You're… Yohane, wasn't it? The one always hovering around Her Majesty Tianis."

"Yeah, more or less. That's me."

My first impression of Kanon had been of a sharp-eyed, striking beauty.

A cold beauty reminiscent of ice.

But right now, she was utterly exhausted, her once-pristine appearance haggard and worn.

"Have you been sleeping at all? You've got dark circles under your eyes."

"Silence. This is the task entrusted to me. I must produce results as soon as possible…"

Kanon had shielded Queen Tianis from debris during the meteorite incident, suffering serious injuries while rescuing her.

She'd been hospitalized immediately for treatment but, refusing to stay in bed, had discharged herself before fully recovering.

Since then, she'd apparently been helping out with various tasks while still recovering from her injuries.

From the looks of it, her wounds had healed, but she'd been working nonstop without any real rest.

Her loyalty was the kind that drove her to risk her life, serving as Queen Tianis's right hand with complete selfless devotion. But this was too much.

"So what do you want? One of my subordinates went to brief Her Majesty on our progress just now. Was something lacking?"

"No, that's not why we're here."

I showed her the written order.

It would be faster than trying to explain verbally.

"This… You're here to help? By direct order from Her Majesty?"

"Yes. Various circumstances have come up, and she's determined that the census needs to be updated to the latest state as quickly as possible. For national defense, apparently."

I kept the details vague.

I figured that with Kanon, she'd nitpick every little thing and the conversation would never move forward.

The important details would be shared with her by Queen Tianis later anyway.

"I see. If it is Her Majesty's order, then so be it."

I'd half-expected her to tell us to leave, but she seemed willing to comply when it came to Queen Tianis's direct orders.

Deep down, she was probably desperate enough to accept help from anyone.

I was relieved. It would've been awkward if she'd turned us down.

"Approved. I'm currently managing the Bureau of Internal Affairs. Chancellor Anatia holds the concurrent title of Internal Affairs Minister, but she's busy as well. It's most reliable for me to handle it, given the trust Her Majesty places in me."

"If that's the case, you really should stop working yourself to the brink of collapse."

Competence aside, in terms of loyalty, there was no one who could replace Kanon.

She was an irreplaceable right hand for Queen Tianis.

"Here, drink this for now."

"What is this?"

"It's a special energy tonic made by Ramiza-san. It's incredibly effective in situations like yours."

It had been developed by the alchemist Ramiza-san specifically for crunch time.

It contained no suspicious ingredients, but it did include rare materials sourced from monsters and labyrinths, with Ramiza-san's formulation boosting the effects even further.

One dose provided effects that put any commercially available tonic to shame.

… That said, it was ultimately borrowing from tomorrow.

Once the work was done, she'd absolutely collapse without proper rest.

"I'd like to say I wouldn't accept a gift from you, but if an alchemist prepared it, it's unlikely to be poison."

She took the bottle I offered and downed it in one go.

"Ugh."

The bottle slipped from her hand, but Azu caught it before it hit the ground.

Since it was reusable, nice save.

Kanon immediately covered her mouth with her hand.

She endured for a moment, then I heard the sound of her swallowing.

"That's a terrible taste."

"Apparently she made it taste that way on purpose so you wouldn't want to rely on it."

"Is that so… Well, as you said, it's certainly effective. The drowsiness and fatigue are gone, and my vision's cleared up."

Ramiza-san had strictly warned against regular use.

But if her vision was just now clearing up, she really had been at her limit.

I'd need to find a way to force her to rest at some point.

"So… do you know how the Royal Capital's census is managed?"

"Not a clue. I assumed it was something like compiling and managing citizenship records and birth registrations."

"That's the basics. Those records are loaded into a crystal, a magical tool, for management. Well, the reality is that up until recently, not only was that not being done properly, the records were actually being falsified."

"That sounds rough."

"It is… it really is rough. Since the originals can't be trusted, we're gathering old filings and starting from scratch. The estimated population of the Royal Capital is eight hundred thousand, but that's based on outdated data that includes the falsified records. The actual number is likely higher. The tax records will need to be redone from the ground up too."

"Ooh. If you do it right, you might end up reducing the tax burden per person while actually increasing total revenue."

"That might be true, but… haah."

Even with Ramiza's special tonic, the exhaustion was still winning out.

"The review of the filings themselves is nearing completion. The problem is cross-referencing them against the people actually living in the Royal Capital. Without that, there's no way to verify whether the new originals are accurate, which defeats the purpose. But how to go about it…"

"It would be trouble if there were people whose addresses couldn't be confirmed. Why not have every resident of the Royal Capital come to the castle at least once?"

"And what about the people who don't show up? Tracking them down on our end would be a herculean task."

"True. Then you just need to attach some benefit that makes them want to come. People will get off their backsides if the incentive outweighs the hassle."

It seemed this fell right within my marketing expertise.